Tag: Inspiration

Journey To Leadership

13 Signs That You Are A Trailblazing Leader

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Pioneering or trailblazing leaders are the firsts to do anything in any field.

Indeed, they initiate, innovate, explore and thrive in uncharted territory. They face obstacles before anyone else.

Furthermore, they are always learning, growing and getting out of their comfort zones.

Needless to say, the job of the pioneering or trailblazing leader is hard. 

Wondering what makes you a trailblazing leader?

13 Signs That You Are A Trailblazing Leader

13 Signs That You Are A Trailblazing Leader

Being a pioneer or trailblazer requires courage, grit, commitment and responsibility.

#1. You have a clear vision

You have a clear vision for your future.

Your vision is a dream that encompasses their values and morals, that seems unrealistic but that is yet anchored in reality, that is ingrained in your DNA.

You are confident about it and you can communicate it easily.

You aim to build a company culture that promotes curiosity, imagination and brainstorming.

However, you do not need to have a clear step by step plan.

In addition, you are always frustrated because your reality doesn’t match your vision. Your progress doesn’t seem enough and you believe that you can be better, do better, do more and do faster.

#2. You know your worth

You are aware of your strengths and weaknesses, of your limitations and your uniqueness.

You value your originality and you hate imitating others.

You don’t try to blend in because you understand your value resides in standing out.

#3. You are pathologically curious

You are eager to learn and cannot stop asking questions.

Without fearing repercussions, you ask questions that no one has never asked before.

You understand that the possibilities are endless and you are never done exploring them.

You experiment with things that excite or scare you. By facing your fears, you evolve and learn important information about yourself.

#4. You embrace change

You embrace change and innovation. Matter of fact, you love to lead in tumultuous waters, you are the first to say or do anything and you adapt easily to change.

Great leaders know that they have to embrace change in order to stay competitive and relevant.

Moreover, you see life as an adventure. For example, you are unafraid of uprooting and moving to a strange place.

You love experimenting, taking risks and can’t stand routine.

You enjoy trying new thing and seeing what will happen next.

#5. You are creative

You are creative and your need to create overpowers all your fears.

You can’t help that you:

  1. Require creative freedom.
  2. Are entirely consumed by your creations.
  3. Care more about the content than the format.
  4. Care more about creating than being right or clever.
  5. Care more about creating or innovating than selling or untroducing it to the world.

#6. You need freedom

Your freedom means everything to you.

You hate structure, rules, paperwork because you believe that all these are processes stifle your creativity, delay your pioneering moves and slow you down.

#7. You challenge the status quo

You are unpredictable. Your forward-thinking disrupts, challenges the status quo and pushes people out of their comfort zone.

Consequently, your presence and your perspectives make people uncomfortable.

You wish that they can see what you see and understand what you believe in.

#8. You attract the right people

You love to explore and to meet new people.

A trailblazing leader goes first and leads by example. By going first, you will attract the right type of followers and you will be able to feed from their energy to keep pursuing your vision.

At the end, you will build a team that is unconventional but has the right skills to reach your vision.

#9. You take self-motivated action

You constantly take action and need to move forward.

Indeed, you are always on the move, looking for the next new thing. You are always looking for new opportunities.

Furthermore, you are self-motivated. You do not need someone to encourage you or push you towards your goals.

You are goal-oriented: you have a tendency to focus on your vision and unfortunately forget your relationships.

Hiwever, with your actions, you will inspire others to take action.

#10. You are resilient

You are persistent and resilient. You see challenges as opportunities and courageously face adversity.

You are also committed to your vision and are willing to see a problem through.

By now, You have thick skin because people have tried to shut you down so many times.

Do not fear the winds of adversity. Remember, a kite rises against the wind rather than with it.” - Winston S. Churchill Click To Tweet

#11. You are solution-oriented

Because you usually blaze a trail, you have become resourceful and solution-oriented.

You are able to make quick decisions and bring new solutions to your organization by solely relying on your gut for the next direction to take.

In addition, you are able to find different solutions to one problem because you are confident about the future.

#12. You are optimistic

You stay positive as a life and leadership strategy.

You are optimistic and excited about all the possible positive outcomes.

Furthermore, you don’t complain. You understand that life is made of ups and downs, that complaining amplifies the issues and weigh you down.

#13. Your work ethic is unheard of

You have a strong work ethic.

You believe that if you put the work in, your vision will come to life.

You are committed to your vision and have laser focus.

Last Words Of Advice!

Remember, most people will feel uncomfortable in your presence because you question their reality and their systems of belief.

It becomes critical to remember who you are and what you stand for.

It becomes detrimental to be patient with people, to stand alone than to stand in the midst of people who group-think.

Hope that I’ve helped you get it together on your way to leadership!

Don’t forget to like, share and leave a comment below.

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Book Reviews

The 10X Rule By Grant Cardone

by journeytoleadershipblogLeave a Comment on The 10X Rule By Grant Cardone

The 10X Rule By Grant Cardone is a guide to set goals, reach and retain success in any area of your life.

The 10X Rule will help you to define your version of success and to repetitively create extraordinary levels of success.

What is the 10X Rule?

The 10X Rule is achieving success by putting in 10 times the effort and the action that the average person would.

The 10X Rule means acting towards your goals with 10 times the right mindset.

Why is the 10X Rule vital?

Estimating the  right amount of effort and time to invest in your goals will help you reach your target without moving the finish line.

Furthermore, multiplying your effort by 10 will allow you to predict issues and to be prepared.

By using the 10X Rule, you will be able to:

  • Stick to your guns and not be distracted.
  • Define your own version of success.
  • Make a plan for your life.
  • Filter out goals that have been imposed on you.
  • Set your own limits and aim for the impossible.
  • Set a positive and sustainable mindset.
  • Implement your own system of belief.
  • Properly estimate your abilities.
  • Tap into your full potential.
  • Work without it feeling like work.

The 10X Rule By Grant Cardone

How to achieve higher levels of success?

Success is having a purposeful life and its realization is your responsibility.

In addition, success is important for your personal growth, for your sense of self and for your well-being. 

Success depends on your stage in life and shouldn’t be minimized.

Success is not a popularity contest. - Grant Cardone, in The 10X Rule Click To Tweet

To achieve higher levels of success:

1. Do not play the victim or make excuses

It is detrimental to take responsibility for your actions, to find solutions, take action and gain more control of your life.

2. Relinquish control

In life and at work, you will not control everything. However, you can control how you respond to everything.

3. Be the solution

Understand that you can be the solution and the problem to your situation, at the same time.

4. Do not try to be average

Being average and facing average difficulties will not lead you to success.

People who operate on the average level tend to try to overestimate results, underestimate difficulties, steal success from those who operate at the 10X level.

5. Do not rest on your laurels

Resting on your laurels is the surest way to get overpowered and to lose sight of your goals.

6. Set your goals

Goal-setting plays an important part in your success.

  • Set your goals high enough so you do not fail, so you resist adversity and maintain your enthusiasm.
  • Speak your goals into reality on a daily basis.
  • Align your goals with your purpose.
  • Clearly define your goals.
  • Verify that your goals are equal to your potential.
  • Understand that your goals are personal.

7. Avoid competing with others

When you compete with others, you spend more time watching what someone else is doing rather than creating and setting the pace.

It becomes critical to find your niche, dominate your field and do what others are not willing to do.

8. Be mindful of the company you keep

The people you associate with determine your level of success.

Before joining a group, analyze the pros and the cons of belonging to this group.

9. Get obsessed over success

Obsession is not all negative. Obsession can be converted into action and can be conveyed.

Being obsessed will push you to make things work.

Get obsessed over success.

Get obsessed over every possibilities and every action that will take you towards your goals.

10. Go all in

Going all in means fully committing to your goals and possibly over-delivering.

No matter what, understand that:

  • It is OK put all your eggs in one basket and to over-commit.
  • You can and will fail as many times as you will and can succeed.

11. Embrace fear

Take fear as a sign to keep doing what you actually fear and to keep applying the 10X rule because:

  • Fear means that you are growing.
  • Fear means you are doing something uncomfortable.
  • Your moment is now. There isn’t a good time to take action.

12. Value your time

Time is of the essence. To achieve success: manage your time effectively, maximize your time, set your priorities, create a healthy work-life balance.

13. Do not be afraid of criticism

Criticism means that you are on your way to success when you start taking action.

The most valuable chips you have are your mind-set, actions, persistence, and creativity. - Grant Cardone, in The 10X Rule Click To Tweet

Review

The 10X Rule By Grant Cardone is an inspirational and motivational book, written for leaders, entrepreneurs and anyone who wishes to be successful.

It forces you to reevaluate your goals, your purpose and your definition of success.

It encourages you to take risks, “act, produce and create in massive quantities regardless of the situation or circumstances.”

It demonstrates how to be and stay the leader in any field. The 10X Rule focuses on your character, your mindset and your goal-setting skills.

Most of the time, we struggle to reach our goals and don’t understand why. But, Grant Cardone makes it very clear that:

  • You must be self-aware and self-assured.
  • You are the only one that stands  in front of your goals.
  • Success depends integrally on the effort, time and energy that you put in.
  • Most of what society claims to be wrong is an inherent part of success.

To Grant Cardone  success is a mindset and is determined by your purpose.

The 10X Rule is not a get rich quick trick. Remember:

  • All goals are difficult to achieve.
  • You will always face some type of adversity.
  • You must assess your abilities and your resources.
  • Your goals must be extraordinary, appropriate and require motivation.
  • Success must be constantly maintained.
  • You current state doesn’t matter.
  • The way you are perceived doesn’t matter.

Let me know below what you think about this book!

Favorite quote(s)

When you have underestimated the time, energy, and effort necessary to do something, you will have “quit” in your mind, voice, posture, face, and presentation. You won’t develop the persistence necessary to get your mission accomplished.

Never take the position that things just happen to you; rather, they happen because of something you did or did not do.

Until a person is done being a victim, he or she is unable to create solutions and success. That person only has problems.

The most valuable chips you have are your mind-set, actions, persistence, and creativity.

If you are not creating new problems for yourself, then you aren’t taking enough action.

Success is not a popularity contest.

Ratings 4/5

Author

Grant Cardone

Journey To Leadership

The Importance Of Identifying & Strengthening Your Core Leadership Values

by journeytoleadershipblogLeave a Comment on The Importance Of Identifying & Strengthening Your Core Leadership Values

All leaders must identify and set their core values before accepting a leadership position, before developing an organization or before joining a company culture.

Leaders with strong core values induce an ethical and healthy workplace.

However, when leaders lack character, they create conflict, mistreat employees, belittle customers, focus on results rather than build healthy relationships, allow sabotage and aggressive below the belt office politics. Subsequently, they then create a toxic environment.

Wondering how to identify and strengthen your core values?

The Importance Of Identifying and Strengthening your Core Leadership Values

What are core values?

Core values are principles that build your character and that define who you are deep down.

They are fundamental beliefs that guide you in life and at work, that drive your behavior and that gather things about you that you truly care about.

Core values are based on your culture, your systems of beliefs and what you learnt from your childhood.

In addition, core values guide leaders in any environment and in every situation.

They are principles by which leaders and organizations operate. They are transmitted to employees via the corporate culture, are shared from one generation to another.

Core values are principles that build your character and that define who you are deep down. Click To Tweet

At Journey To Leadership‘s, we believe in:

  1. Leadership. We want to lead by example, lead with character, motivate people to achieve a unique vision and teach people how to lead with integrity.
  2. Living to learn. We do not assume that we know everything, we give ourselves the opportunities to explore and to ask questions that challenge the status quo.
  3. Creativity & Innovation. We welcome change, embrace innovative ideas, love taking risks and bringing new products to make the world a better place.
  4. Purpose & Ambition. We invite people to aim high, to walk in their purpose and to stay focused.
  5. Candor. We encourage transparency, authenticity and speaking truth to power. We reward people for speaking up and for speaking the truth.
  6. Patience. We promote patience, being slow to anger and seeking understanding.
  7. Fairness. We do not discriminate, we are equal opportunity leaders, we believe in making fair decisions and treating everyone equally. 
  8. Diversity. We are culturally sensitive, respect diversity and believe that difference is good.

Why define your core leadership values?

Core values must be carefully chosen, based on our personal needs and wants.

Core values make life more satisfying and more meaningful, they are a lifetime commitment. Core values must help you:

Consolidating your leadership values requires hard work, determination, daily practice and self-discipline. In general, core values are hard to maintain but are worth the struggle.

How to identify your core leadership values?

Core values make life more satisfying and more meaningful, they are a lifetime commitment To identify your core leadership or organizational values:

  1. Find out how you would describe yourself.
  2. Examine if you are satisfied with the current state of your life and what you love or hate the most.
  3. Identify your strengths, weaknesses and blind spots.
  4. Think about what you would do if you were financially free and had no cares in the world.
  5. Analyze which workplace you thrive best and feel your best in.
  6. Evaluate your greatest accomplishments.
  7. Observe where and with whom you wish to spend your time.
  8. Identify what you cannot live without.
  9. Understand the lessons you have learnt from your failures.

To strengthen your core leadership values?

  1. List your core values, write them down and give examples of your core values in action. Everyone has a list of at least 5 values that they hold on to, that facilitate their responsibilities and ease their problems.
  2. Remind yourself daily of your core values through a vision board or positive affirmations.
  3. Align all your decisions with your core leadership values. When your values don’t align with your decisions, you start feeling uncomfortable, emotionally triggered and in conflict with yourself.
  4. Communicate your core values to your employees. A company without core values is a toxic environment.
  5. Put your values to the test in life, at work and within your organization. Core values often show themselves when we face adversity. If someone tells you or forces you to believe that life is unfair and you wholeheartedly rebel against that thought, then your core value is definitely fairness.
  6. Empower other people to find their own core values.

Last Words Of Advice!

Leaders must be convinced of their vision and committed to their core values.

However, some core values are harder to apply than others. They demand more effort than others. So, don’t give up!

 

Hope that I’ve helped you get it together on your way to leadership!

Don’t forget to like, share and leave a comment below.

Journey To Leadership

13 Signs You Are Meant To Be A Leader

by journeytoleadershipblog2 Comments on 13 Signs You Are Meant To Be A Leader

Sometimes, our circumstances don’t match our inner thoughts and beliefs about ourselves. Sometimes, we haven’t figured out who we are yet and we are leaning into other people’s expectations of us.

Sometimes, we believe that our personality will be rejected when it is our character that counts. Other times, we notice that one type of leadership is thriving and don’t believe that we can level up.

So, this is written as a reminder to those who doubt themselves and who are actually meant to be leaders.

Wondering whether or not you are meant to be a leader?

13 Signs You Are Meant To Be A Leader

Western society promotes bad leadership in corporate organizations. It seems that “evil leaders” win and appear smarter and more successful than “good leaders”. Though these organizations function well and get results, they become more and more toxic to work in.

These organizations have to subsequently provide trainings and team building exercises to counter the effect of negative leadership.

What we need are effective leaders with great character. Most people want the title, the power but don’t have the character, the values or the attitude.

You are definitively meant to be a leader if…

#1. People naturally gravitate to you and ask you for your advice

Have you been standing in the streets, people come up to you for direction? In the grocery isles, people ask you for products? At work, people ask you for help on their project that you know nothing about?

People ask you for advice everywhere you go. That is because you seem approachable, like you have the answers to their problems and like you will not retain any information.

#2. You have a clear vision and a direction for your future

You have a vision for your future and you have the conviction that your dreams will come through. You dream so big that your dreams seem almost impossible.

Sometimes, you may not know what you are doing but you sure know where you are going.

Also, you may not be able to immediately put your vision into action but you are sure that it’ll come through, you know how to apply yourself, you know how to trust your gut and to put your best foot forward, and you know how to find the people to help you achieve your goals.

#3. Your character is remarkable

You have outstanding character and people model their behaviors on yours.

This means that you are self-disciplined, you stand up for what is right, you walk with integrity, you are slow to anger and demonstrate patience.

Furthermore, you have a strong moral compass. Even under pressure, you have to do what is right so you can respect yourself, love yourself and sleep at night.

#4. You love to learn

You are eager to learn, to explore and innovate. As a matter of fact, you ask tones of questions and you are an ever evolving being.

You have learnt from your employees, from bad leadership and from good mentors.

In addition, you don’t retain information, you are able to speak frankly and openly.

#5. You see people strengths and weaknesses

You see people strengths and weaknesses and you place them in the areas of their strengths.

Indeed, when you are a leader, you see people for who they really are and for what they can bring, you don’t make assumptions.

On the same occasion, you know where your strengths lie, where they will be complementary and where your weaknesses would hold people back.

Finally, you surround yourself with people who make you better and who complete you.

#6. You follow your own rules

You beat to the sound of your own drums. You don’t follow social rules and you think outside the box.

You don’t care about what people have to say about you, you go after what you want, indifferently to social expectations, to your circumstances and to stereotypes.

#7. You are a problem solver

You understand that there are several ways of doing one thing. With you as a leader, people are most likely to take risks, to innovate and are less afraid of making mistakes.

You have a lot of life experience, you find solutions to problems by asking people or by experience. Good or bad, you are grateful for your experiences and you are now wiser.

#8. You are resilient

You hurt like everybody else, you feel people pain but you are capable of withstanding adversity and of recovering quickly. In other words, you can take a licking keep on ticking.

#9. You are an equal opportunity leader

You treat everyone the same: you believe in fairness, equality and in equity.

You don’t make assumptions about people and their behavior.

#10. You are a people person

You are a people person: you build great relationships, motivate people to be better and to do better.

Furthermore, you don’t assume power or influence over people. You just lead when it is needed, show appreciation for people and you don’t hug the spotlight.

At last, you do not let negative energy permeate into your life and you leave your emotions at the door.

#11. You like to help

You like helping people, giving  them the information that they need to succeed, even if they didn’t ask for help.

In your opinion, helping people is incredibly gratifying. You don’t do it for them to like you. You did it because you were needed and because you want the project to move forward.

And, you are humble enough to ask for help.

#12. You are innovative

You are constantly dissatisfied with the current system. That is why, you love innovation and you inspire others to innovate.

#13. You are cognizant of office politics

You know everything that is happening in your office and you know everyone by name.

However, you don’t judge your employees, blame them for their mistakes or gossip about your employees with your own employees.

You notice those who need training, those who hate their job, those who outperform, and those who underperform.

Basically, you understand office politics.

Last Words Of Advice!

Mots of the time, people and parents, even with the best intentions, want to direct your life. Then, we listen and achieve what people expect of us.

A leader, recognizing the value of people close to him or her, taking into account the opinions of others, recognizes that their own dreams supercede all that.

 

Hope that I’ve helped you get it together on your way to leadership!

Don’t forget to like, share and leave a comment below.